Casavant wins House District 137 seat after recount

AUGUSTA – Biddeford's Alan Casavant was declared the final winner Monday in the House District 137 race, besting Kennebunkport's Bill Guay by a slim margin of 15 votes to recapture his seat.

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By Laura Dolce

seacoastonline.com

By Laura Dolce

Posted Nov. 19, 2012 at 4:33 PM
Updated Nov 19, 2012 at 4:36 PM

By Laura Dolce

Posted Nov. 19, 2012 at 4:33 PM
Updated Nov 19, 2012 at 4:36 PM

» Social News

AUGUSTA – Biddeford's Alan Casavant was declared the final winner Monday in the House District 137 race, besting Kennebunkport's Bill Guay by a slim margin of 15 votes to recapture his seat.

In Monday's recount, the secretary of state determined that 2,574 votes were cast for Casavant, a Democrat, while 2,559 were cast for Guay, a Republican.

The recount capped a somewhat tumultuous race, with Casavant first conceding on election night after Guay appeared to have won the seat, followed by Guay conceding Nov. 9, after absentee ballots, including those from members of the military, put Casavant ahead.

With only 15 votes separating the two candidates, Guay requested a recount. Both candidates traveled to Augusta on Monday to be present for the count, which confirmed the final tally and found Casavant re-elected.

“I'm very much relieved,” Casavant said late Monday afternoon. “(Guay) was a fantastic candidate. He was very gracious. He pushed me to my max to keep up with him. He was the toughest opponent I've faced.”

For his part, Guay said he is grateful for all the support he received and has no regrets.

“Alan ran a great race,” he said. “I have no hard feelings whatsoever.”

Casavant said he's looking forward to returning to Augusta, especially now that Democrats are in control of the House. He also said after the drama of the past two weeks he's looking ahead to some rest – though as both a state representative and mayor of Biddeford, he's not likely to get that soon.